The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) was created by the Department ofTransportation Act of 1966. It is one of ten agencies within the U.S. Department ofTransportation concerned with intermodal transportation. FRA promotes safe,environmentally sound, successful railroad transportation to meet the needs of all customers today and tomorrow.

FRA's Office of Railroad Safety promotes and regulates safety throughout the Nation's railroad industry. The office executes its regulatory and inspection responsibilities through a diverse staff of railroad safety experts.

The Federal Railroad Administration is responsible for working with stakeholders to develop cohesive goals and policies for maintaining and improving the U.S. freight and passenger rail networks. This section covers various efforts across America and the world in helping to deliver safe, reliable, and efficient rail transportation.

FRA Research & Development (R&D) projects contribute to the FRA's safety regulatory processes, to railroad suppliers, to railroads involved in the transportation of freight, intercity passengers, commuters, and to railroad employees and their labor organizations.

In this section, we provide descriptions and comprehensive, official sources for FRA's regulations (also called rules), selected legislation, as well as policy and guidance documents. Additionally, you will find current topics of high interest or significant impact to Congress, railroads, employees, labor, public interest groups and other stakeholders.

FRA supports passenger and freight railroading through a variety of competitive grant, dedicated grant, and loan programs to develop safety improvements, relieve congestion, and encourage the expansion and upgrade of passenger and freight rail infrastructure and services. FRA also provides training and technical assistance to grantees and stakeholders.

Website Policies and Notices

Terms of Use

You are accessing a U.S. Government information system. This information system, including all related equipment, networks, and network devices, is provided for U.S. Government-authorized use only. Unauthorized or improper use of this system is prohibited, and may result in civil and criminal penalties, or administrative disciplinary action. The communications and data stored or transiting this system may be, for any lawful Government purpose, monitored, recorded, and subject to audit or investigation. By using this system, you understand and consent to such terms.

Privacy and Security on Federal Railroad Administration

Please click this link to view our Privacy and security policy to see how the FRA website handles technical and personal information when you visit our website.

Linking Policy

The FRA links to other websites that provide additional information that might be helpful. FRA primarily links to official government sites, but will also include non-government sites if they feature information not available on a government site. FRA tries to make sure that the Links will go directly to useful pages, not necessarily to organizational home pages. The Federal Railroad Administration evaluates all links according to the criteria listed below:

Is the recommended website an official government-owned or supported website?

Does the recommended website provide official government information or services?

Does the recommended website complement existing information, products and services on the Federal Railroad Administration website?

Is the recommended website accessible and applicable to a wide audience?

Is the recommended website's content relevant, useful and authoritative for visitors?

Does the recommended website's information appear to be accurate and current?

Does the recommended website's approach to the privacy of personal information appear to be consistent with the government's privacy and security policies?

Is the recommended website "user-friendly?"

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The information posted on the Federal Railroad Administration website includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations. The FRA provides these links and pointers solely for information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the Federal Railroad Administration's website and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.

The Federal Railroad Administration or the Department of Transportation, which FRA is a part of, does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.

The Federal Railroad Administration does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.

The Federal Railroad Administration cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked websites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.

The Federal Railroad Administration is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.

The Federal Railroad Administration does not guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.

Accessibility Policy

The Federal Railroad Administration is committed to providing access to all individuals, disabled or not, seeking information on the Federal Railroad Administration website. To provide this information, Federal Railroad Administration website has been built to comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (as amended). Section 508 requires that all individuals with disabilities (whether federal employees or members of the general public) have access to and use of information and data, comparable to that provided to individuals without disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on us.

If you are an individual utilizing assistive technology (such as a screen reader, Braille reader, etc.) and experience difficulty accessing information on www.fra.dot.gov , please contact us and indicate the nature of your accessibility difficulty, the URL (web address) of the material you tried to access and your contact information. We will contact you and attempt to provide the information you are seeking.

Accessing Document in Different File Formats

Some documents on the Federal Railroad Administration website are in Portable Document Format (PDF). These documents ensure that you will be able to obtain publications in their original format regardless of what type of computer, browser or operating system you use to access the Internet. In order to view, navigate through and print PDF documents, you must first download the free Acrobat Reader software.

Plug-ins

Listed below are some common Plug-ins. Please click on the link to download the proper plug-in for your requirement (Please Note: These links point to sites that are not government sites).

Adobe Acrobat ReaderAdobe Reader software is the global standard for electronic document sharing. It is the only PDF file viewer that can open and interact with all PDF documents. Use Adobe Reader to view, search, digitally sign, verify, print, and collaborate on Adobe PDF files.

Adobe Flash PlayerAdobe® Flash® Player is a cross-platform browser-based application runtime that delivers uncompromised viewing of expressive applications, content, and videos across screens and browsers.Flash Player is optimized for high performance on mobile screens and designed to take advantage of native device capabilities, enabling richer and more immersive user experiences.

Microsoft SilverlightSilverlight is a powerful development tool for creating engaging, interactive user experiences for Web and mobile applications. Silverlight is a free plug-in, powered by the .NET framework and compatible with multiple browsers, devices and operating systems, bringing a new level of interactivity wherever the Web works.